I had a young woman ring me the other day. She sounded a little nervous on the phone but the reason for that soon became obvious. You see, she’d signed up for a typing job at home on the web sometime back, paid out money and then nothing happened. She lost her money and felt ‘burnt’ and was nervous about trying again. However, she’d been researching the Virtual Assistant industry and was very keen to work at home with a genuine role, and anxious not to get caught by something bogus.
So, she rang me to see if I was real – even though she’d done the research, as indicated on my site. Just hearing a voice on the other end of the phone, to reassure her, was all she really needed.
I really feel for people who are just starting out to operate a business online. There is so much to learn, so much to read and heaps of information that is not factual or genuine. How on earth are you supposed to sort the wheat from the chaff?
This young lady did the right thing – she picked up the phone to help allay her fears.
When researching ‘opportunities’ online you do need to do the research but it need not all be done online. Use the Yellow Pages, or the White Pages to verify business names, locations and phone numbers (or the Yellow Pages or White Pages online for that country if you’re elsewhere). Try libraries, councils or ask people who are already ‘in the know’. Make phone calls or take a trip and make a visit. Whatever it takes to help ease your concerns and assure you that if payments are to be made, they are going where they should be, to assist you in your own goals.
And for those promoting online, make it easy for people to contact you. A contact form and nothing else can make things difficult for people who want to do business with you. If you offer online payments, provide other options as well, for example, faxed credit card payments, cheque by post, credit card over the phone or even EFT if people make contact for the details. Give people multiple forms of access and contact and you’ll help ease their minds. What works for one person doesn’t necessarily work for all. KMT
virtual assistants, work at home, wheat from chaff, bogus
Dusty Warren says
We have to take risks in life to make it and we have to learn from our mistakes and find other ways to accomplish our goals just like the young woman did.
Picking up the pieces and moving forward is a step in the right direction.
Kathie, this reminds me of some wise words I was given.